ADVERTISING APPEAL

Advertising intends to promote the sales of a product or service and also to inform the masses
about the highlights of the product or the service features. It is an efficient means of
communicating to the world, the value of the product or the service. Advertising utilizes different
media to reach out to the masses and uses different types of appeals to connect to the
customers across the globe. The various types of advertising appeals harness different means
of highlighting the features of a product and drawing the attention of the masses towards it.
Here is an overview of the different types of advertising appeals.

Different types of Advertising Appeals

Audio-Visual Media Advertising: In this advertising technique, the advertisers use the very
popular audio and visual media to promote a product. It is the most widely used media that can
effectively influence the masses. Television and radio have always been used to achieve a
mass appeal.

Bandwagon: This advertising appeal aims to persuade people to do a certain thing because the
masses are doing it. It is a human tendency to do as the masses do. Bandwagon technique of
advertising captures exactly this psychology of human beings to induce them to use a certain
product or service.

Black and White Fallacy: In this advertising appeal, only two choices are presented before the
audiences, thus compelling them to buy the product being advertised.

Card Stacking: This advertising appeal involves the display of a comparative study between
two competing products. The facts in favor of the product to be advertised are selected. They
are put forth in comparison with those of a competing product to make the product appear better
than its competitors.

Classified Advertising: This type of advertising makes use of newspapers and periodicals to
make public appeals about the products or services to be advertised. Know about going global
with classified advertising.

Corporate Advertising: Corporate advertising is an advertising appeal wherein corporate logos

and company message are publicized on a large scale. Hot air balloons are commonly used in
advertising a product. Some companies propose to place their logos on booster rockets and
space stations to achieve a wide publicity of the company.

Covert Advertising: This is the practice of achieving an indirect publicity of the product by
advertising it through movies and TV shows. TV actors and characters in movies are often
shown using certain products. Covert advertising is an indirect way of advertising a product by
featuring it in films and television shows

Demonizing the Enemy: In this advertising appeal, the advertisers make the people with an
opposing point of view appear unacceptable. The people bearing certain ideas are made to
appear among the disliked individuals of society. This form of advertising involves the idea of
encouraging an idea by discouraging the ideas contrary to it. It is like proving a theorem by
disproving its inverse!

Direct Order: When the advertisers appeal the masses by showing them the steps to take, in
order to opt for a particular product or service, they are said to be using direct order. This
advertising appeal often communicates the steps to choose a certain product or service and
presents them to the audiences in a simplistic manner.

Disinformation: This technique involves a purposeful dissemination of false information. In the

context of military, this technique is used to mislead the enemy. It commonly includes forging of
documents and the spread of rumors.

Email Advertising: This is a relatively new advertising appeal that makes use of emails to
advertise products. Advertisements are sent through emails, thus bringing out communication
with a wide range of audiences.

Emotional Words: This advertising appeal makes use of positive words to generate positive
feelings in the minds of the people about a certain product. The advertisers often use the words
like 'luxury', 'comfort' and 'satisfaction' to create positive vibes among the masses to attract
them towards the product being advertised.

Euphoria: The use of positive events characterizes this advertising appeal. Declaration of a
great discount or sale on a holiday and making luxury items available at affordable prices are
often used to aim mass appeal.

Flag-waving: The advertising appeal that makes use of the patriotic flavor to publicize a product
is known as flag-waving. In case of flag-waving, the advertisers try to justify certain actions on
the grounds of patriotism. The masses are persuaded to choose a particular product because
doing so will be an exhibit of patriotism.

Glittering Generalities: In this form of advertising, advertisers make use of logical fallacies.
They use appealing words without giving any concrete idea about what is being advertised.

Half Truth: In this advertising appeal, the advertisers use deceptive statements to publicize
their product. They often use double-meaning words or statements to convey their message to
the masses.

Interactive Advertising: This advertising appeal makes use of the interactive media to reach
out to the target audiences. Advertisers often hold exhibitions or trade-shows and offer rewards
in the forms of discounts and free gifts to increase the sale of their product. Distribution of free
samples of a newly launched product and publicity of a product through interactive means are
some examples of interactive advertising. Have you participated in contests intended to promote
products? Have you come across websites offering free products to users? The free stuffs are
popularly known as freebies. Know more about Freebies.

Internet Advertising: It is a relatively recent form of advertising appeal. Internet has become
one of the most influential media of the modern times. Websites attract thousands of users
everyday and expose them to the advertisements on the websites.

Labeling: With an intent to increase or diminish the perceived quality of a product, the
advertisers use labeling or categorization. Categorizing a product under a group of associated
entities makes it appealing or unappealing to the masses.

Name-calling: This advertising appeal makes use of direct or indirect attack on the products in
competition with the product being advertised. Direct name-calling involves making a direct
attack on the opponent while indirect name-calling makes use of sarcasm to demean the
products of the competitors.

Outdoor Advertising: Outdoor advertising is a popular advertising appeal that uses different
tools to attract the customers outdoors. Billboards, kiosks and tradeshows are some of the
commonly used means of outdoor advertising. Fairs, exhibitions and billboards that draw in the
passersby are often used in outdoor advertising.

Performance-based Advertising: In performance-based advertising appeal, the advertisers

pay only for the results. The advertising agency assumes the entire risk and hence ensures that
the advertisement is pitched well.

Plain Folks: This advertising appeal aims at attracting the masses by using common people to
advertise a product. Bombastic words may not always appeal the common folks. They can
rather be attracted by communicating with them in their language. The use of homey words, as
they are called, and purposeful errors while speaking to give a natural feel to the speech, is
characteristic to this advertising appeal.
Print Media Advertising: The print media is one of the most effective means of advertising.
Many advertising appeals make use of the print media to reach out to the masses. Media like
newspapers, brochures, manuals and magazines are used for publicizing the products.

Public Service Advertising: This advertising technique is used to convey socially relevant
messages to the masses. Social messages on issues like poverty, inequality, AIDS awareness
and environmental issues such as global warming, pollution and deforestation are conveyed by
the means of appeals to the public through public service advertising.

Quotes Out of Context: This advertising appeal makes use of popular quotes. The advertisers
using this advertising appeal alter the widely known quotes to change their meaning. This
technique is used in political documentaries.

Relationship Marketing: This form of advertising focuses on the retention of customers and
customer satisfaction. Advertisers appeal to the target audiences with information that suits their
requirements and interests.

Repetition: This advertising appeal uses the technique of repeating the product name several
times during an advertisement. Jingles are often used in this advertising technique to linger the
product name in the minds of the masses.

Scientific Evidence: This technique attempts to appeal the masses to use the advertised
product, by providing the audiences with survey results. The advertisers often use statistical
evidences and market surveys to publicize their product

Shockvertising: This advertising appeal makes use of shocking images or scenes to advertise
a product. The name is derived as a combination of the two words, ‘shocking’ and ‘advertising’.

Slogans: Slogans, as we all know, are striking phrases used to convey important information of
the product to be advertised in an interesting manner. There are lot many famous advertising
slogans that we are familiar with.
"Finger-lickin' good."

Kentucky Fried Chicken Advertising Slogan

"It's the real thing."

Coca-Cola Advertising Slogan

Snob Appeal: Snob appeal is an exact reverse of the bandwagon technique. In this advertising
appeal, people are induced to buy a certain product so that they can stand out of the crowd. It is
often indicated that buying the product will make them look different from the rest. It is often
indicated that the product is not affordable for the common masses by attaching a 'sense of
exclusivity' to such products.

Stereotyping: This advertising appeal is also known as name-calling or labeling and attempts
to categorize the advertised object under the class of the entities, which the masses fear.

Subliminal Advertising: This advertising appeal makes use of subliminal messages, which are
intended to be subconsciously perceived. Subliminal signals go undetected by the human eye.
However, they are perceived at a subconscious level. Subliminal appeal often makes use of
hidden messages and optical illusions.

Surrogate Advertising: In cases where advertising of a particular product is made illegal, the
product companies come up with other products with the same brand name. Advertising the
legal products with the same brand name reminds the audiences of their legally banned
products as well.
Testimonial: People tend to relate to their favorite figures in the glamor industry. People
attracted to their idols often tend to adopt what their idols do. They want to emulate the people
they relate to. Testimonial makes use of this human tendency by using the words of an expert to
recommend their products. Celebrities are used as ambassadors for products in order to
promote the sale.

Transfer: This advertising appeal is implemented in two ways. In a positive transfer, a product
is made to associate with a respected individual of society. However, in case of a negative
transfer, the advertisers state an analogy between a product and a disliked figure in society.

Unstated Assumption: When the idea behind the product or service being advertised is
repeatedly implied, it is known as an unstated assumption. In case of using this advertising
appeal, the advertisers do not state the concepts explicitly. They rather imply their ideas in
various ways.

Viral Advertising: It can take the form of word-of-mouth publicity or of Internet advertising. The
aim of the advertiser is to market the product on a very large scale. This advertising appeal
intends to achieve a speedy publicity of a product similar to the spreading of a pathological or a
computer virus!
Word-of-Mouth Advertising: It can turn out being a very effective advertising appeal. It can
achieve phenomenal success to an extent where a brand is equated to a common noun.
Vaseline can be sited as one of the excellent examples of word-of-mouth publicity, where the
company name, ‘Vaseline’ became synonymous with the product name, ‘petroleum jelly’.

This was an overview of the different advertising appeals that advertisers around the world use
to market their products and services. Many of the popularly used products and services of
today have gained popularity thanks to the advertising techniques that were implemented for
their publicity. Advertising appeals used by a company are important determinants of its
success.